Hoenn Boxlocke Challenge
by BleakCitadel
Summary: Welcome to Hoenn, Haruka. I see you want to begin your own Pokémon adventure. However, yours will not be so easy. There will be rules, and you'll be punished if you break them. Battle with the thirty Pokémon we assigned for you... and most importantly, don't let them die.


I was enveloped in darkness. There was nothing here, and when I tried to breathe, my lungs filled with nothingness. I panicked, even though air was not necessary in that empty space. Where was I? Looking at my surroundings, I found myself floating. I wasn't flying, I wasn't falling either. My body moved freely, yet couldn't move. There was nothing to see, so I waited.

And waited… And waited…

I wanted to sleep, but I wasn't sleepy. I wanted to eat, but I wasn't hungry. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't go anywhere.

Then, something approached me. A small ball of light, I can't remember its color. It floated around the place, just like me. It moved all around my body, as if inspecting me. It stopped in front of my eyes, and moved in circles, as if trying to say something. There was a faint sound coming from it, but it took me a while to understand what it was saying.

"Are you ready for the challenge ahead?"

It sounded like an echo, or like more than one people speaking in different voices. But I was confused by its words. What challenge? The only thing I could remember was that I was moving out to a small town in Hoenn with my mother. My father was a Gym leader there, so we moved closer to his place. But was that the challenge? I didn't have time to figure it out.

I woke up in a start. There were boxes and furniture all around me, cramped in a small place no bigger than a normal room. Right, I was in a truck. But it seemed like it stopped. Was there some trouble? Then someone opened the doors on the back. I saw my mother there. She seemed happy.

"We're here!" She said.

I stood up with big effort and blinked a few times. Then jumped out of the truck and stretched my legs; it's been a long journey.

"Welcome to Littleroot Town. Do you like it?"

In fact, I did like it. Grass on my feet, surrounded by trees and a chilling, calm breeze. It really seemed like a tranquil place to live. There were some leaves floating with the wind. I always liked that kind of scenery, especially when it was filled with Grass-type Pokémon. To my left, there was a house. It seemed like it was made of wood, very rustic, but not too small. My mother noticed my curious stare and spoke to me.

"This is our home. Come on in, the Pokémon are still arranging everything, but your room is ready."

We went inside. Indeed, there were Vigoroths putting in place some boxes and some delicate furniture. But it didn't seem long before they finished. Some of them where going to the truck I was in before, maybe that was the last that needed to be arranged.

"Your room is upstairs. Your father bought you a new clock, you should see it."

As instructed, I went upstairs. I was so tired that, even if I wanted to go quickly… they were stairs, famous for being tiresome even to the most athletic people. Or maybe I wasn't used to them. The second floor wasn't too big; there was only mine and my mother's rooms, behind different doors. I don't think she would like it if I went into hers, though. There was also a bathroom between both rooms, but I didn't feel like going there just yet.

Inside my bedroom there was a bed, of course; a desk with a computer and a chair, a TV with my game console, and of course my new clock. It was round and pink, but it was stopped. I needed to set it in hour for it to begin working. I turned on the TV, maybe there was a channel that said the exact hour. And indeed there was; it was five o'clock, afternoon.

As soon as I set it, the hand of the seconds started moving. Alright, that was done. Then I checked on my PC, I remembered I had an item stored somewhere. I let out a sigh of relief when I found it: a Potion. It's an item to heal a Pokémon, actually, and I didn't have one. But my mom told me we would have a neighbor who was a trainer, and his father who was a Pokémon Professor. As such, he was studying Pokémon in his laboratory, and a Potion would be a useful item for either of them. I took it so I could give it to someone.

My mom came into my room, telling me that everything was ready, and that I should go downstairs when I finished. After making sure I wasn't forgetting anything, I went. She was watching TV on the living room. When she saw me, she hurriedly called me.

"Haruka! Come here, they're broadcasting from Petalburg City on TV!"

I smiled and ran next to her. As I said before, my father was a Gym leader in the Petalburg City. He uses Normal-type Pokémon, but he's strong. There are not many Normal-type leaders; because they're usually depicted as weak, but he always liked them, and he used to tell me how strong were the normal-type Pokémon in Hoenn.

When I approached the TV, the show ended. Both my mother and I looked downhearted; we actually wanted to see him, but we weren't so lucky. She looked at me, and smiled. This wasn't the time to feel bad, and she knew that.

"Do you want to rest a bit? You must feel tired."

In fact, I did. Even if I slept inside the truck, it wasn't comfortable. I just nodded and went upstairs to my room. The bed never felt so comfortable before. Not even bothering about changing my clothes, I laid down, and I slept as soon as I closed my eyes.

* * *

Once again there was darkness. This was the second time since I moved to Hoenn. What was going on? Why was I dreaming about that? About nothingness? I felt someone was trying to get to me; to connect to my thoughts.

The ball of light floated in front of me again. Light? It seemed like some sort of purple smoke, actually. It was the first to speak.

"Welcome to Littleroot Town. Are you ready for the challenge ahead?" It asked me that question already, on my first dream. But what kind of challenge was it talking about? "Will you begin your Pokémon adventure?"

"My... Pokémon adventure?" I was confused. When I moved to Littleroot Town, I didn't do it with the intention to become a Pokémon trainer. I only did it to visit my father; and I was living with my mom after all, so I had to follow her decision. But if I had to tell the truth, the idea of training my own Pokémon wasn't bad at all. I always loved those creatures anyway.

"Your own unique adventure." The light said. "Yours will be the Boxlocke challenge."

"Boxlocke?" That was a word I've never heard in my life, but since it was spoken in my own dream, it was possible that I remembered it subconsciously and my brain was telling me that now.

"The rules are simple. You have thirty Pokémon assigned in your PC box." Thirty! Now that sounded interesting. "I know what you're thinking, and you didn't let me explain the rules yet."

"I..." I actually didn't say anything; maybe that thing could read my mind? That was a stupid question, of course it did; it was _inside_ my mind.

"One: Whenever you catch one Pokémon, you must release it and exchange it for one of your thirty Pokémon.

Two: The Pokémon you catch must be the first encounter of each route. If you fail to catch it, then forget about it.

Three: To select the Pokémon you'll use, I will provide you with a die. Roll it twice, first number: row, second number: column.

Four: When you're battling with a trainer, you can't change your Pokémon. You must wait until the other trainer takes out his or her Pokémon, and when you change it, yours must take the first attack.

Five: Your Pokémon are fragile. Normal ones will faint when they lose a battle. However... yours will die, and you won't be able to use them again. Be careful, plan your strategy. If your thirty Pokémon die, consider this challenge over. Good luck."

As soon as the dream came, it ended. I woke up, staring at a new ceiling, confused. It took me a few minutes to realize I was at my new home. I stretched my whole body while still in bed, and I turned around to look at the window. It wasn't too late, but the sky was turning pale orange. I got up and went to the clock; about an hour had passed since I went to bed. I decided to go downstairs and check on my mom.

"Oh, you're already up?" She asked with a bit of concern. I only smiled at her and nodded. "I see." She returned my smile. I noticed she had a cup of coffee in front of her. "By the way, why don't you go to visit the neighbors? They're nice people, I'm sure you'll like them!" She was right. I was expecting to meet someone, but I was so busy arranging everything and so sleepy that I forgot.

"Alright, see you later!" I said, and I went outside. That amazing scenery enveloped me again. I was so used to the air from the big city that this change of smell was very refreshing. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with relaxing and natural air. I saw a house in front of me; it looked a lot like mine. I decided to go there and say hello.

I knocked, and a young lady opened the door. She was around my mother's age, with curled light brown hair falling to her shoulders. She had a kind smile on her face.

"Hello! You must be Haruka, your mom told me a lot about you." I was a bit flustered, but she didn't seem like a bad person. I returned her smile.

"That's right. I just moved, but I was so tired that I forgot to come here and say hello."

"Oh, don't worry!" She waved her hand. "Come in." She said, going inside and leaving the door open for me.

Not only from the outside, but from the inside our homes where practically alike. There was also a small girl there, maybe that was her daughter. She looked at me curiously, and I decided to wave my hand at her. She smiled happily and did the same; I was afraid that she wouldn't do well with strangers, but luckily that wasn't the case.

The lady sat down. There was a Japanese-style table and chairs, and some cups of tea on top of the table. There was also a teapot, and steam was coming out of it. Then she poured tea into the cups, offering me one. I sat down and I accepted. It was a cup filled with green tea.

"So, have you met my son yet?" I looked at her and shook my head. I noticed there were a few people around, but I went straight to this house. "His name is Yuuki, he's helping his father's research right now."

"I heard that he's a Pokémon Professor." I asked. "And he knows a lot about Pokémon."

"That's right!" She replied, apparently she felt proud with that. "But I don't know where they are right now. Maybe you should go upstairs and wait Yuuki there."

"Is it ok?" I asked. I didn't like going to someone else's room without their permission, but the lady insisted.

"Yeah, he wanted to meet you actually."

I took a last sip of the tea, thanking the lady for her kindness, and I went upstairs. As I expected, the structure was very much alike the one at my house. I realized that everyone's room was in the same place as mine and my mother's. I went into Yuuki's room, I was curious to know what kind of person he was.

His room was like mine. He even had a clock on the wall, but it was blue. I decided to check on the time, a few minutes past seven. I looked around me and something caught my attention: a pokéball standing in the middle of the room. I wondered if there was a Pokémon inside, and I decided to check it. As soon as I picked it up, I heard steps behind me, and someone stepped inside. I turned around, and I saw a boy there, around twelve years old (like me), with black hair covered with a white hat and brown eyes. He looked at me curiously.

"Who are you?" He asked, walking towards me. I dropped the pokéball by accident and I waved my hands in front of me.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm Haruka and I live next door. I wasn't trying to take anything or… ah!" I was interrupted when the boy crouched to grab the pokéball that I dropped. When he stood up again, he just gave me a warm and friendly smile.

"Oh, is that so! I'm Yuuki, pleased to meet you!" He extended his hand to me. I decided to take it, and we shook hands. I was glad he wasn't angry. "Do you like Littleroot, Haruka?"

"Very much! It's so different from Olivine City, but I like it."

"Olivine City!" He exclaimed, surprised. "That's in Johto, right? There are amazing Pokémon there!"

I let out a laugh. Anyone would be excited to know about Pokémon from different regions, and the ones in Johto were especially good for me. I wanted to know more about the new species in Hoenn though, I also found them interesting, and I was especially interested in all the legendary Pokémon people talk about. Back in Johto, we had the legendary birds that lived in towers in Ecruteak City, but unfortunately one of them burned a long time ago. I always liked how mysterious that legend was, but I never had the opportunity to visit that city.

" _A city where you can hear the melody of the sea."_ Yuuki recited suddenly. I looked at him; I remembered that phrase from Olivine City. "There's also a lighthouse there, protected by a Pokémon, right?"

"Oh, Ampharos, yeah." I told him. I had forgotten he was the son of the Pokémon Professor, so he knew a lot about Pokémon too if he helped with the research. "He's a timid Pokémon, but he seems to like Jasmine, the Gym leader."

"Say, do you have a Pokémon yet?" He asked after a pause. "If not, do you want me to catch you one?" I really liked the idea of having my own Pokémon, but just as I was about to say yes, he remembered something. "Oh, I'm sorry! I have to help my dad first. Maybe another time, yes?" I nodded. I still needed to get used to this new region, so I decided that waiting was the best idea. "It was nice to meet you, Haruka!"

"You too!" I said, and I left. He set to work on his computer instead. I went downstairs and I saw that lady again. "Thanks for the tea!" I exclaimed, and I left the house, closing the door behind me.

I was left with a great impression. They were really nice people, and very kind. But I still needed to see the Professor. To the direction both houses where facing, there was a ridiculously big building. If there was a professor, then that was his lab. I was about to go there when I saw a small kid, looking towards Route 101.

I went to him, asking what was wrong. I knew that there was tall grass there, and that meant wild Pokémon. If someone doesn't have a Pokémon, then it's dangerous to go into the grass. But that wasn't the reason the kid was looking towards the route.

"Someone seems to be in trouble. What do we do?" He seemed concerned, but he didn't want to go. Instead, I decided I would check it out.

I went in, cautiously. I knew I wouldn't encounter any Pokémon, but I was afraid one would jump at any minute. Just then, I heard someone crying for help, and I ran to where the voice was coming from. I saw a man being chased by a wild Pokémon. My mind filled with terror, I didn't know what to do. At the end, the Pokémon had him cornered.

"Hey, you!" He said to me, hurriedly. "Get one of the pokéballs on my bag, quickly!"

I looked around for the bag. There was one at my feet. I crouched and I began looking frantically for the pokéballs. I found three at last, and they had nametags apparently. They said _Treecko, Torchic_ and _Mudkip_. I didn't know those Pokémon, but I decided to take Torchic.

When I released it from the pokéball, I saw that it was a small, orange Pokémon, and it had a look of determination on its face. He was ready to battle.

"That's Torchic, he knows Scratch and Growl!" The man instructed, seeing the Pokémon I took.

"Alright… Torchic, use Scratch!" Torchic did as I said, and he attacked the wild Pokémon. It took a lot of damage, but it stood up and used Tackle. Torchic had a higher level, so he was stronger, and could take the attack like it was nothing. It waited for my next command. "Uhm… keep attacking! Use Scratch again!" I said, and he obeyed. This time, it was too much, and the wild Pokémon fainted instantly. The man looked at me, relieved, and walked towards me.

"Thank you." He sighed, and smiled. "That Zigzagoon almost got me, but I was saved thanks to you." He looked at me and exclaimed, as if he just recognized me. "Oh, you're Haruka, right? I knew you would come. Come to my lab."

* * *

The inside of the lab was quite messy. There were some machines that I've never seen, all of them with lights that turned on and off very quickly.

"Welcome! I have to introduce myself now, I'm Professor Birch. I study Pokémon habitats and wild Pokémon behavior, but things went wrong and I was chased by a Zigzagoon there…" He laughed and placed a hand on the back of his head, embarrassed. "But in exchange for saving me, would you like to take Torchic with you? He seems to like you already."

"Can I?!" I said happily. I also liked Torchic, and now that I tasted the excitement of battle, I was more impatient to get my own Pokémon. "Thank you!"

"Now that's settled, why don't you go to Route 103? I bet you met my son already, maybe he can teach you something about battling and getting a strong bond with your Pokémon."

I nodded, taking the pokéball the professor was giving me. I finally had my first Pokémon! I had forgotten how tired I was after sleeping in that truck, now I was happy and I just wanted to begin my own Pokémon adventure. I went outside with the professor, and he instructed me how to get to Route 103. I memorized it, and I went to have my first battle against a trainer.

Oldale Town was as pretty as Litleroot, but bigger. There was a Pokémon Center there; I recognized it from the red roof. There was one in Olivine City too; many trainers went there to heal their Pokémon. Out of curiosity, I decided to go inside. There was a faint smell of disinfectant there. Nurse Joy was standing next to a machine; she used that to heal trainers' Pokémon. My Torchic was a bit tired from Route 101, so I decided to take a rest before moving on.

"Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Center. Oh, you're a new trainer, right?" I wondered how people could tell the difference between a new and an experienced trainer.

"Yes, I am."

"Congratulations! I'm always here when you need assistance. Now, may I have your Pokémon?" I thanked her and I gave her the pokéball where Torchic was in. She put him into the machine, it made a sound and a few seconds later she gave it to me. I was surprised at how quick that was. "There, your Pokémon are in perfect health." She said, giving back the pokéball. I took Torchic out of it, he seemed refreshed. "It's quite late, why don't you go to sleep?" The nurse said, after looking at the window. It was nighttime already. "We have some beds upstairs."

"Thanks, but I'll pass for now." I declined. "I might come here later." With that, I left the Pokémon Center. I still had to meet Yuuki and have a battle with him.

Professor Birch had told me that Route 103 was north of Oldale Town, and even though it was big, there was a big mass of water that divided the route, and from this side it was rather small. When I went to the route I saw that he was right. Even before leaving the town I saw Yuuki there, inspecting some Pokémon on the tall grass. I walked to him, occasionally encountering a few Pokémon I didn't recognize. He heard the grass rustling, and saw me.

"Haruka, hi! What are you doing here?"

"Professor Birch gave me a Pokémon." I took Torchic out of his pokéball so he could see. "He told me you were here."

"I see… you seem to have a strong bond with this Torchic already. From the looks of it, both of you will be very strong in the future. But first… would you like to battle?" He took out his Pokémon without waiting for my reply. "This little guy is Mudkip. He's a water type Pokémon. Torchic is a fire type and you know fire is weak against water." I already knew a few things about Pokémon; I had seen Jasmine battling against many trainers.

"Yeah, but if you don't have a water-type move, then you can't do much to a fire-type."

He smiled, seeing I already knew that.

"Good. But it's better to learn from experience. Now, shall we begin?" Only with that, we began our battle. "Mudkip, use Tackle!"

"Torchic, use Scratch!"

My Torchic was faster, and it attacked first. However, this time I wasn't facing a weak wild Zigzagoon, but a strong trained Mudkip. I had to be careful this time. As soon as Torchic attacked, Mudkip did the same. They both took about the same damage.

"A friendly fight is always good. But it's not always about damaging your enemy; Mudkip, use Growl!" I told Torchic to use Scratch again. Mudkip took the same amount of damage than last time, but he used Growl. "Your Torchic's attack has lowered. Now, his physical attacks are less effective. What would you do in this situation?"

I bit my lower lip, thinking. I relied on Torchic's speed to win, but now that changed everything. I would have to do the same, and lower Mudkip's attack so I could rely on my Pokémon's speed again.

"Torchic, use Growl!" Yuuki smiled, satisfied that I was learning. However, he didn't want to lose either.

"Mudkip, use Tackle! So, do you like battles so far?" He asked me. He seemed to be enjoying it a lot, and in fact so was I. I smiled defiantly to him; none of us was willing to give the victory to the other. We were halfway there, but…

"Torchic, use Scratch!" I yelled, and Torchic did it. However, even if Mudkip seemed to be quite healthy, he took the attack and fainted. I stood there with my mouth open, staring at Yuuki so he would answer. He put Mudkip inside its pokéball again, and answered my inner question.

"There are times in a battle when you would be very lucky, and your Pokémon will land a critical hit."

"Critical hit?" That was a word I've never heard in Johto, but he spoke about it as if it was natural.

"There are times when your Pokémon's attacks will deal a lot of damage, more than what they normally do. When that happens, it's a critical hit. Oh, and looks like your Torchic is at level six already!"

I was amazed at how he could know those things. I was about to ask him how did he knew my Pokémon's level, but he spoke first.

"We should return to the lab before it gets too dark. I'll be going." He said, before going to Oldale Town. He was right, it was dark already, and both my Torchic and I needed to rest. I decided to follow him to Birch's lab.

* * *

"So Haruka won! That's really great. I see you have great potential." He told me, proudly. "This is why I'm giving you something."

I tilted my head to one side, curious. He already gave me a Pokémon; I shouldn't ask him for something else. But he went to a desk, grabbed a red artifact and handed it to me.

"This is the Pokédex." He explained as I looked at it. "Whenever you see a new Pokémon, it records the data automatically. Yuuki also has one, and he never lets go of it. I'm sure you'll encounter a lot of Pokémon during your journey, and maybe you can even catch every Pokémon out there."

I knew a bit about the Pokédex already. It was created by Professor Oak, a Pokémon Professor from the Kanto region. Professor Elm was a close friend of him, and used to talk about him whenever he visited Olivine City. I opened the Pokédex and I saw a list, mostly empty. I wondered about that, but the Professor explained.

"There are many Pokémon from this region that you haven't seen yet." He said, seeing how confused I was. "Until you don't see them, it won't appear on your Pokédex. And until you catch it, the page won't be filled with Pokémon information."

I began going through the list. Only a few Pokémon were there, even my Torchic. It had full information of its type, weight, height and even its footprint. I also saw Zigzagoon, Mudkip and Poochyena, the Pokémon I met in Route 103.

Yuuki walked to me, and handed me five pokéballs. At first I thought they were Pokémon, but they weren't as heavy as the one my Torchic was in. They were empty.

"Here, you'll need these. Throw them to a wild Pokémon." He explained to me. "First you need to weaken it, because if it's too healthy it can escape."

I thanked him, and I saved the pokéballs inside my bag. I was happy, that was just like beginning a Pokémon adventure. I wanted to leave quickly and tell my dad about my new Pokémon. But first, I needed to tell my mom.

"Thank you Yuuki, Professor Birch!" I said as I ran away from the lab.

It was night already, and the town was dark. It seemed even better than before, now the moon was shining above and the trees were outlined with that delicate white light. I went inside, and I saw my mother, who apparently heard the news already.

"Haruka, honey! Professor Birch told me already, you saved him from a wild Pokémon! Can I take a look at your Torchic?"

I smiled and I let Torchic take a look at my house, too. He looked at my mom, she had a fascinated expression on her face, as if saying how cute it was.

"I also heard he wanted to give you a Pokédex. So are you going?" I nodded. I was excited to leave, but sad that I wouldn't be with her for a long time. "Your father would be proud. Say hello to him when you go to Petalburg City, it isn't far from here."

"Thanks mom, I'll tell him you said hi." I was about to leave, but she stopped me.

"Oh Haruka, I have something for you." She gave me a pair of shoes; they seemed to be good for running. "Remember to visit me sometime!"

I said goodbye to her, and I left. I headed straight to Route 101. On my way I saw Yuuki ahead of me, apparently he was going on an adventure too. I took Torchic to walk beside me; he would be needed for the wild Pokémon.

* * *

 _This again..._ I thought, as I was surrounded by a black world. It was just like the first time, and the ball of light or smoke was there again. These were beginning to get annoying, but they were my dreams so I couldn't do much about them. I decided to listen to the voice.

"You haven't forgotten your challenge, have you?" I couldn't tell whether it was angry or just serious, it only spoke in a childish voice, mixed with a mature one.

"No, I haven't. And I'm not going to do it, you're just a dream."

It was silent for a few seconds, probably thinking. Then, it spoke again, never changing its tone.

"If you don't believe me, check your first box in your PC. However, I should warn you that you must give away your Torchic in exchange for one of the Pokémon in the box."

"Of course not!" I yelled. Even if it was a product of my imagination, I felt like I had to oppose resistance against it.

"If you refuse, he will die."

I stopped talking. Not only it was useless, but it seemed to make things worse. I only kept listening.

"You remember the rules. Roll the die, and release your Torchic. You can give it back if you want, but you won't be allowed to use it until you beat the Pokémon League."

"But why?! Why do I have this challenge?!" I yelled, but I couldn't hear the answer. I woke up suddenly, I was sleeping in a bed in the Pokémon Center, one Nurse Joy offered to me.

I was again at the Pokémon Center, my Torchic asleep next to me. Would I have to abandon him? No, that was only a dream, after all. I shook my head and stretched. Yawning, I stood up. Torchic woke up as well and followed me. I went downstairs to the PC... for some reason. I knew the dream wasn't real, but something was nagging me. Something I couldn't understand.

I turned it on. I knew I didn't have anything inside my Pokémon box, so I checked my items instead.

I froze. There was a die there.

But why? I checked it before leaving. I took out a Potion. Maybe I didn't see it? Or my mom delivered it? I couldn't know.

Then I checked it. I needed it. I was curious to know... and there they were. Thirty. The box was full with Pokémon I didn't recognize, even some from other regions. Did that really mean I would have to begin my adventure by the Boxlocke rules? That was ridiculous. I didn't want to accept it. I left the Pokémon Center, furious. I wasn't going to give in to that strange dream and those rules, I would begin my adventure, be a Pokémon master and the best trainer that the Hoenn region has ever seen.

* * *

 **Yay, notes!: I wasn't expecting the first chapter to be so long... but here it is. Going through the Nuzlocke Wiki I found a list of variants, and one that seemed to be a lot of fun was the Boxlocke. I already explained it a little, but it's basically a set of 30 random Pokémon inserted into the game (with Pokésav or Pokégen), and those are the only ones I can use through the entire game. Yes, I will play and write what I do. I'm also hoping to do most of the nuzlockes on the list, in different versions.**

 **I wasn't sure how to name the character so I just decided to give her the japanese name. Hoenn is the only region that has terrible names... in my opinion. Anyway, Pokémon won't be named I guess (except one, I hope I use it) because I take so long to name a Pokémon that I'll probably use for two minutes.**

 **Uhm... I shouldn't be writing an author's note so long but I love it :D**


End file.
